Cheap, quick bidet and shower= happy females

[vertex2100]

In the 20 years I've lived outside the USA (Saudi Arabia), the absolute best cultural thing I've experienced that the USA doesn't have routinely, (not kidding)is that almost all bathrooms in many countries,have a bidet hose next to the toilet. After you get used to washing your rear with water then drying with paper, you can't stand only using toilet paper ever again. It makes you feel very uncomfortable and dirty. Since I have limited time with my boat in the USA and don't want to spend the entire vacation running wiring and hoses,I wanted an easy, simple, quick thing to make. I simply hooked a spray handle and hose like on a kitchen sink to a pump garden sprayer then screwed a web strap to the bathroom wall to hold it in place. We also take it to the cockpit for a pressure shower. Can use as flush so get 2 uses for same water and don't fill potty too quickly. Girls, wife and daughter, love being clean. Guess I do too, mainly so other will socialze with me. Makes their experience more enjoyable. Only takes about 30 minutes for mod other than shopping and get lots of happiness for the buck. Can even use to wash down bird messes on deck. Bob

[Rick Westlake]

Been reading Larry & Lin Pardey, have you? They mention the garden-sprayer shower in Cost-Conscious Cruiser. Seriously, it's a good idea, more practical than the built-in pressure-water shower that the P.O. installed in my 26X. The web strap hold-down is smart of you, too.

Any time you can use something simple, hand-powered (pumped in this case) and portable/replaceable - rather than expensive, built-in, electric-powered and hard to install/repair - you're ahead of the game. Thoreau had it right - Simplify!

!	kmclemore:
	Added link.

[kmclemore]

If you get a stainless tank, like the Zodi Shower I have on board, you can also heat the water before taking that shower (or, if you're feeling particularly luxurious, a bidet!). It even has a temperature gauge on the side to make sure you won't get burned. Just purchase the tank only, not the whole burner assembly shown below, and then you can pop it onto your ship stove to give it a quick warm up.




Zodi sells them for cheap in refurb mode on ebay pretty regularly. You can get one for as little as $79 that way - that's how I got mine, and it's still working many years later. Example: http://cgi.ebay.com/ZODI-PORTABLE-OUTDO ... 1c0cdb7acb

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

I have the zodi tank as well that heats nicely on our Origo galley stove. I bungee it to the SS post at the aft end of the galley and you get nice hot water for dish washing. It also stores OK in the head against the aft wall next to the head sink.

It holds the heat pretty well. Even toward the evening you will still have warm water.

[delevi]

Those of you with showers, what do you do to drain the water? Or do you just shower outside?

[Duane Dunn, Allegro]

The few times we have use a shower on board it has been outside. The cockpit works, but usually it is the sun shower up on the bow.

I know of a few X's that have showers in the head. Because the X has a full fiberglass floor pan with sides in the head that is raised above the bilge area, it is possible to put in a drain, and a sump with a pump like the larger sailboats have. All the walls in an X head are fiberglass, only the door is wood and there is no carpet. I you really went crazy with water in there you'd want to put some kind of rubber seal around the lower part of the door as there is about a 1/4" gap where it meets the lip on fiberglass wall. If you are careful not much would leak out and the pan at the door opening has about a 4" raised section of wall that you step over.

[delevi]

Ok, so there is a reply to my question within the body of my own post.

[kmclemore]

Ok, so there is a reply to my question within the body of my own post.

The problem with being a moderator is that every once in a while you screw up and hit the 'edit' button instead of 'quote' .... and being half asleep you end up screwing the pooch. Fixed now... apologies!

[kmclemore]

Those of you with showers, what do you do to drain the water? Or do you just shower outside?

Well, we use bio-safe soap and we shower in the cockpit... remainder drains overboard. Obviously, we don't do this in the marina!

[K9Kampers]

Those of you with showers, what do you do to drain the water? Or do you just shower outside?

I remove the companionway ladder and set up a large plastic tote as a tub & hang a shower curtain to contain water in the tote tub. Solar shower hangs from boom overhead. Soapwater is poured into a portable wastewater tank.

[Kelly Hanson East]

We shower in the cockpit. On the hook, we do it inside the enclosure and use a dishpan and large sponges. The Admiral has remarked how on how clean we are when we come home after a week. When I had my boat full of young ladies on board, I heated up the water, then went ashore while they all showered so I wouldnt end up in jail.

[violaman]

Two words: Baby Wipes! Best bidet.

[bwygirl]

The sun shower always seems to be a good inexpensive choice. Years ago while cruising our 26 classic we used the sun shower. My son, about 12 yrs old, plugged up the drain in the cockpit floor and used the sun shower to fill the now bathtub! Worked great but don't let the bag get too hot. In nice weather you can shower in the cockpit but I also keep a shower bag ready for when we get to a marina.

[DaveB]

Don't forget the baby powder to, helps on those long hot days sitting at the wet helm cushions.
I use the 1 gal. hand sprayer. I bought a plastic hand held for $5 and cut off the hose of sprayer and attached a 6 ft. line. I get 2 showers.
I also use a 1/4 gal plastic juice container, drilled a bunch of 1/16 hole in cap (keep another cap without holes) for great dump over head when it gets to hot, previous it was my shower.
In the winter I heat up a pint of hot water and put it in sprayer.
We are in SW. FL so much warmer than the Northern Lat's.
Dave

Two words: Baby Wipes! Best bidet.

[kmclemore]

Don't forget the baby powder too, helps on those long hot days sitting at the wet helm cushions. I use the 1 gal. hand sprayer.

Wow. That's gonna spray a lot of baby powder!